Deputy head of Iran Cultural Heritage, Handcraft and Tourism Organization, Mohammad Hassan Talebian, said Monday that as many as 730 historical sites in 25 provinces across the country have suffered damages in the recent heavy rainfalls and flash floods.
He added that initial evaluations of the extent of damage caused to cultural heritage sites have came to an estimation of 300 billion tomans (roughly $90 million) worth of funds required for the restoration and revival of the flood-hit sites.
Talebian expressed regret that the recent floods have inflicted severe damage to some historical sites in a number of provinces, saying monitoring of sites, structures or bridges in the river beds takes precedence over any other issues for the cultural heritage organization.
Although he deemed the majority of historical bridges to be mostly in good shape, the official went on to add that some parts of these bridges have fallen off and are in need of urgent restoration.
He also noted that the Mir Fatah ice-house in Hamedan province, belonging to the Qajar period, has collapsed after suffering 70 percent damage due to the high volume of rain that fell suddenly on the dome-like structure from above.
Talebian further stated that the cultural heritage organization has submitted a report on the extent of damages to the country’s historical sites to UNESCO, saying the agency’s experts were likely to visit Shoushtar in Khuzestan provnce on Friday.
He added that Iran can receive global financial aid for restoration of its UNESCO-inscribed historical sites.
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